Just The Facts, Mam

I was a huge fan of Dragnet from the time I was 10 until I was 13 or so. I don’t think Jack Webb ever actually said “Just The Facts, Mam” on the show–as Joe Friday–but that phrase is associated with him in that context.

How much of a fan was I? On Thursday, May 18, 1972 I broke my right foot playing football in the alley behind my house. Even though I couldn’t walk, I refused to let myself be taken to the hospital until after the 7:30 PM episode of Dragnet had aired. That airing was on a Washington, DC TV station. I also watched an episode every weekday at 5:30 PM on a Baltimore station. The two episodes were not the same.

The facts as they relate to the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs) don’t seem to have much currency, though. Despite years of hype and propaganda, EVs have only a 5%-6% share of the new vehicle market in the US. Even in California, which has just “banned” the sale of NEW internal combustion engine (ICE) cars beginning in 2035, EVs have a 10%-12% share. As I have written before, other countries like Australia have even lower adoption rates.

Yes, in Norway EVs are dominant. Well, the Norwegian government heavily subsidizes their purchase and heavily taxes the purchase of ICE powered cars. The Norwegian government owns 1.3% of all the stock holdings in the world and can afford to do basically anything it wants, especially in a country with a population of about 5.5 million. That would not rank among the top 20 US states.

Did you know that 20%-30% of people who buy an EV buy an ICE car for their next vehicle? I’ve never seen a survey of those who go back to ICE vehicles, but I would imagine the fact that EVs do not have the range that is advertised plays a role.

I was originally going to call today’s post “Whatever Happened To The Customer Is Always Right?” Of course, I don’t think anyone is always right, but that also applies to governments and blind zealots trying to shove an agenda down everyone’s throat. EVs are not the answer, certainly not the only answer. One size almost never fits all.

I estimate I will be driving for another 20 years. ICE powered vehicles will still comprise the vast majority of those on the road for the rest of my driving life. I still do not envision myself ever owning an electric vehicle.

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My annual physical is today. My blood work, however, was done in April or May. (I confess I don’t remember, exactly.) Because insurance companies will not pay for a physical unless it’s been at least one year since the last one and because the damn virus has affected the demand for and supply of medical services, I have suffered from a severe case of “physical creep.”

My birthday is in March and I used to have my annual physical then. Well, it’s almost September in case you hadn’t noticed. Maybe David Banner (not his real name) knows the answer to this question. How many physicians would accept cash in lieu of insurance? I have encountered some practices that will only accept insurance, or at least so they say. I wonder what they would do if I offered a meaningful deposit once a year against future charges.

Since my wonderful wife retired we no longer have dental insurance. However, our dentist’s practice basically insures us. We pay a reasonable annual fee and get some services “for free” and others at a discount. I don’t know why that can’t be a more common practice, especially for a primary care physician.

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Not to be even more repetitive, but tomorrow is 19 weeks since the Z06 first refused to start. The current shop working on my car has now had it for about nine weeks. (That math “works.” The first shop had the car for eight weeks and I had it in my possession for about two.)

It is no secret that I am seriously considering getting rid of the Z06 as soon as the repairs are completed, assuming they ever will be. It is also no secret that a current generation Toyota Supra is far in the lead for consideration as the replacement.

Unfortunately, and as I wrote here, “…the resolution of my car situation and its timing are, sadly, not really up to me…It is, however, a manifestation of the joke that is just-in-time manufacturing.” In addition, the phrase “out of sight, out of mind” is quite relevant.

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#JustTheFactsMam

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